Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, 1994

Stephens v. State

Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals · Decided September 30, 1994 · McMillan, Taylor

672 So. 2d 1359; 1994 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 399; 1994 WL 529427 (Southern Reporter, Second Series)

Opinion of the Court

McMILLAN, Judge.

AFFIRMED. NO OPINION.

All Judges concur except TAYLOR, J., dissents with opinion.

Dissenting Opinion

TAYLOR, Judge

(dissenting).

I respectfully dissent from the majority’s holding in its unpublished memorandum that the failure of the court to indicate its satisfaction that a factual basis for the plea existed before accepting the appellant’s plea was harmless error under Rule 45, Ala.R.App.P. The harmless error analysis is not appropriate here. Rule 14.4, Ala.R.Crim.P., requires that the court be satisfied that there is a factual basis for the plea before accepting a guilty plea. The potential for injury in abrogating this requirement is both obvious and implicit.

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